Tag Archives: Jim Fusco Songs

“Honey Don’t” (Beatles and Carl Perkins Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome, everyone, to another new edition of the Laptop Sessions with me, Jim Fusco!  I’m sorry the post is a bit later today- I was busy yesterday training for an upcoming 5k race with my Traveling Acai Berries member, Steve.  It’s tough motivating myself to run every other day, but I know it’s healthy for me to do so, and I’m using that as extra motivation.

The other day, I was searching online for Beatles covers and Beatles cover songs, but The Laptop Sessions page didn’t come up in my searches!  Well, that has to change.  I’m going to make it a personal goal of mine to get the Beatles category page up in the search engine rankings!

Tonight, I bring you a Beatles song that Ringo got to sing.  All the members of the Beatles (especially George and Ringo) were big Carl Perkins fans.  So, they took this song, “Honey Don’t”, and gave it the Beatles treatment.  I’m glad they let Ringo sing it, as his voice is perfectly suited for it.  Something about the chords on the verses gets me every time.  This song is pretty easy to play, but it’s got such a great tune.  And hearing Ringo sing it in a way only Ringo Starr can, it makes for a great combination.

Apparently, Carl Perkin’s brother even initially refused to play the song, citing its odd chord progression (for a blues song) in the verses.  I’m glad he finally came around!  The song has such a driving beat, too- I’d love to play this live with a band someday.  One of my favorite parts is the guitar solo.  I actually got to play it pretty spot-on even though it’s a solo acoustic version.  The guitar solo in the Beatles version is basically the E and C chords played as barre chords higher on the neck.  I never get to solo during these videos- it was fun!

I’ve wanted to play this song for the Laptop Sessions ever since I heard Ringo singing the song during his concert at the Mohegan Sun this past June.  He sounds exactly the same and they do such a good job of reproducing the energy and the sound of the recording live.  Actually, if I had my way about it, this would be “The Ringo Sessions with Jim Fusco”- I can’t exactly explain it, but I LOVE Ringo’s music.  I especially like his solo albums starting with 1992’s “Time Takes Time”, but there’s something about Ringo’s songs in general that really resonate with me.  Heck, he even makes “Honey Don’t”, a sad song when you think about it, into a jolly good time. 🙂

I hope you enjoy tonight’s video and stay-tuned next week for a very, very special Jim Fusco announcement!  I think you’re going to love it, but you’ll have to keep checking back to see what it is.  See you then!

“You and Your Heart” (Jack Johnson Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Hello everyone and welcome to another new edition of the Laptop Sessions with Jim Fusco!  Glad to be back for my regularly-scheduled Thursday timeslot.  Remember- check back every two weeks for a brand-new video!

I went into a bit of a Jack Johnson phase recently because I ordered his new album, “To the Sea” on vinyl.  I was home cleaning or working one Saturday morning and decided to fire-up the record player.  I instantly liked the album and decided to add it to my car rotation.  However, I still hadn’t listened to Johnson’s previous album, “Sleep Through the Static”, from a couple of years ago.  I even bought it on the first day it came out, but was in another phase at the time (can’t remember what band).  My brother Mike didn’t give “Sleep Through the Static” great reviews, so I thought others should come first.  And there the album sat.  First at the condo, then in my car, and finally in my new house.

So, I listened to “Sleep Through the Static”.  It’s not a bad album.  But, it’s not a great album, either.  I mean, the songs are fine- I really have yet to find a Jack Johnson song I don’t like.  But, and I’m being completely honest here, there’s not too many Jack Johnson songs I truly “LOVE”.  “Sitting, Waiting, Wishing” is probably the closest.  But, all of Johnson’s songs have that same vibe and are semi-simple, for the most part.  Now, if you know anything about my musical tastes, you’ll know that those two traits are things I like in music.  But, on “Sleep Through the Static”, the music is very low-key.  There’s a lot of slow songs and nothing too catchy.

But on “To The Sea”, you start with “You and Your Heart”, which (in my opinion) is the catchiest, most single-worthy song since “Upside Down” off of the Curious George soundtrack.  And since this isn’t a kids’ song, it should get a bit more respect.  Mike doesn’t like the way Johnson sings the verses to “You and Your Heart”, so I hope I did a “better” job with that. 🙂

The song, as I mentioned earlier, is pretty simple to play.  If I had accompaniment, I would’ve played the riff the whole way through, though it’s very difficult to do while singing lead.  I chose to do rhythm guitar for most of the song because it sounds better on a solo performance and helps me keep time better.  It took quite a few takes to get this one right- those fast-paced words during the verses are very tricky.  The first line starts with, “Watch you when you say what you…”  That’s three “you”s in the first seven words of the song!  But, Jack Johnson’s alliteration has always been his strong point, lyrically.

I hope you enjoy tonight’s video.  I’ve got the next three videos planned-out already and they’re sure to please.  A quick note on my musical ambitions: The new website is coming along nicely after a tedious start (coding!) and I’ve started creating a new Facebook page just for me and my music.  Also, please remember to follow me on Twitter @jimfuscomusic!  You’ll get up-to-the-minute news and will always be notified of new videos and blog posts.

I’ll be back sooner if I can get the new website done first, but if not, I’ll see you in two weeks.  For now, enjoy, “You and Your Heart”!

“Sweet Talkin’ Woman” by Electric Light Orchestra (E.L.O.) Cover

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By Jim Fusco:

The 2010-2011 season of the Laptop Sessions with Jim Fusco has now begun!  Back here again after taking the summer off and that’s the way it looks like the schedule will go: September to June.  That way, I can take time off while my wife is off from work.  I’m excited to bring you a whole new crop of Laptop Sessions acoustic cover song music videos- once every two weeks!  In between, I’ll be posting articles, reviews, and more.  There’s a lot going on in this noggin’ of mine, so let me update you on a couple of things I’m up to:

  • I had a nice summer, taking a cruise to Bermuda and doing many activities (mostly that my wife wanted to accomplish during her time off)
  • BIG changes are coming to my suite of websites, including the simplification of everything.  This starts with the removal of fusco-moore.com and the FMP Music Store.  They’re just not necessary anymore.  I’ll keep the MoU site online just for old time’s sake (and, it looks cool), but everything else will be taken down (except for WCJM, of course).  I’m conceptualizing a new JimFusco.com and we’ve been doing some photo shoots to give me some new content.
  • I also have a new Twitter account for my music: jimfuscomusic.  Easy enough, huh?  Please follow me so you can get up to the minute updates on all of my musical ventures!
  • I’m working on a new vocals-only project, but this is more for my own usage.  I always put so much work into my vocals that I wanted to showcase them on a special collector’s album.  More to follow.
  • Finally, and most importantly, I’m working on new songs!  I have nine so far and will probably go to 15 so I can, for the first time, record everything and pick out only the best.  I think this will be important to make the best album I can.  But, I’m not giving up on “Halfway There” just yet, so I’ll be promoting that in the meantime.  We’re still probably a year out before I release anything new.

So, that’s what’s happening.  Now, onto tonight’s video!

I’m back with “Sweet Talkin’ Woman” by Electric Light Orchestra.  This is a great classic rock tune that I’ve known for as long as I can remember.  The song, written and sung by Jeff Lynne, is one of my favorite ELO (or E.L.O., whichever the search engines prefer) songs.

I knew the song started on the “C” chord- you can just hear it in the original recording.  What I didn’t know, however, was that this song is really easy to play.  I mean, when you hear an Electric Light Orchestra song, there’s so much going on that the songs sound like they’re really complicated.  But, even after taking three months off, this still only took me one take to get right!  No, I’m not perfect- I did practice quite a bit off-camera.

I think I got the song down really well and made it my own.  Again, this is definitely a pared-down version from the original, stripping-away the multiple instruments and backing vocals.  The backing vocals presented a bit of a challenge, so I had to pick what I believed to be the “lead” backing vocal note and sing that where necessary.

I hope you don’t notice that I’m getting over a cold.  I’ve been practicing guitar like mad lately, but I’ve been giving my voice a rest after a really bad cold.  You know how the cough lingers with you for weeks afterward?  Well, it’s only been a few days and I’m really holding back in the video.  I can’t even laugh without going into a coughing fit!

I hope you enjoy tonight’s video and that you’ll follow me on Twitter (@jimfuscomusic) so you’ll be the first to know when all my new acoustic cover song music videos and blog posts come out.  So, until next time, here’s “Sweet Talkin’ Woman”!

New Season of The Laptop Sessions with Jim Fusco Begins Thursday, September 2nd

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Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 marks the start of the fourth season of The Laptop Sessions with Jim Fusco. This year, Jim will perform a new cover song music video every two weeks, with articles and reviews in between.

The season will run the length of a normal television season, ending in late May or early June.

Jim is excited about this new schedule and believes he will be able to give more time to each performance. He’s also looking forward to more collaborations with the Traveling Acai Berries and his brother, Mike.

Jim also has nine new songs that are slated for a future, yet untitled, album. So, stay tuned for more Original Wednesday posts, too!

Please join us this year during Jim’s “Road to a Million”, when we will count down to 1,000,000 YouTube video views on all of Jim’s music videos. And you can see it all here at The Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs and original music video blog!